Free A Sound Like Hope (Fallen Tuesday #3) by Karolyn James Page B

He looked like a rockstar. Emily wrapped her arms around
herself as though she could hide the fact she was in tight workout clothing.
She suddenly began to wonder if she was skinny enough. If her breasts looked
good. Oh, her hair. What about her hair? And makeup. Emily didn ’ t wear much makeup usually, but
the thought still crossed her mind.
    The man walked to the same door
Nicholas had went to. He tore the door open and it slammed hard on its hinge
before slowly closing behind him.
    Emily realized she hadn't exhaled a
breath in a while. She did and looked down at the helmet in her hand. Of all
the things that had happened in her life recently, this had to be one of the
craziest, if not the most.
    She needed to give Nicholas his
helmet, just in case.
    And Emily felt very compelled
the meet the rockstar who would be mentoring her nephew.

(8)
     
    Standing at the welcome desk, Trent
wasn ’ t sure if he was at a
doctor ’ s office or a gym.
The smell, the atmosphere, the chairs and table covered in magazines made it
feel like a waiting room. The smiling woman on the phone behind the long desk
did the same. However, the size of the building and the echoing sounds of
basketballs dribbling and shoe squeaking gave Trent a different impression.
    The woman hung up the phone, stood,
and greeted Trent. He suddenly remembered in that moment that there was a good
chance everyone would know who he was. After all the formality stuff, which
included a lot of talking, even more paperwork, and a ton of signatures, Trent
was led to a room that looked like a classroom. There were desks, chairs,
tables, and an array of activities. It wasn't what Trent had expected, but
nothing had been going as he expected so he just went with it. He stood in the
doorway and saw a young kid with his arms folded, leaning back on a chair. He
had blonde hair that came past his eyes. It was obvious that someone had forced
him to comb his hair to the side so that his eyes weren't covered. It was like
looking in a mirror back into the past.
    Standing next to him was a woman
that quickly stole all of Trent ’ s
attention. She was almost as tall as him with pitch black hair, pulled back in
a messy ponytail, and she wore some really tight workout clothes. She had a
helmet in her hand and when their eyes met, her face began to flush.
    The guy from the center, a man
named Rich, adjusted his tie and began to introduce everyone.
    “ Trent,
this is Nicholas, ” Rich
said. “ He ’ s joining you today for a little
while. ”
    Nicholas looked at Rich and with
just that look alone, Rich ’ s
cheeks turned a deep red. Trent smirked. This kid thought he had some real
power, didn ’ t he?
    “ Nicholas,
this is Trent, ” Rich said. “ I ’ m
not sure if you recognize him or not but he ’ s
a famous musician. ”
    Musician.
    Trent nodded. Rich may have said
the word musician, but Trent knew in his heart that he was a rockstar. And,
yes, there was a difference.
    “ How ’ s it going? ” Trent asked.
    “ Are
you going to shake my hand? ” Nicholas asked.
    “ Do
you want me to? ”
    “ No. ”
    “ Then
I won ’ t, ” Trent said.
    “ And
this is Emily, ” Rich said. “ This is Nicholas ’ s aunt. ”
    “ Aunt
Emily, ” Trent said and
smiled.
    Emily - what a beautiful name - looked nervous as hell. Trent offered his hand and she took it.
    “ Nice
to meet you, ” Emily said.
    “ Likewise, ” Trent said. “ I hope you haven ’ t heard anything bad about me. ”
    “ I … well …”
    “ Most
of it is made up, ” Trent
said.
    “ Most
of it? ” Emily asked.
    Trent smiled. Shit. He
needed regain composure here. He couldn ’ t
just flirt with this kid ’ s
aunt. Not in front of him. Not on the first day of … whatever this was.
    “ I ’ m not here to stir up trouble, ” Trent said. “ Put it that way. ”
    “ Of
course not, ” Rich said. “ We ’ re
all here to learn and grow. ”
    Emily stared at Trent for a few
more seconds before